VoltAero makes two senior appointments in ramp up to certification

news
0
SHARE:

VoltAero has made two additions to its governance team as it begins to ramp up efforts towards certification.

The French electric aircraft OEM has brought in Martin Füllenbach as an independent director and Hervé Blanc as an advisory board member. CEO, Jean Botti, told Revolution.Aero VoltAero is now starting to accelerate towards certification and its commercial sales goal of the end of 2024, the hires form part of that move.

Füllenbach is CEO and Chairman of the Board of SolydEra, an Italian-based leader in fuel cell technology and production. He also served as the CEO of Semperit AG, Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum and Voith Marine Systems; as well as working at DaimlerChrysler Aerospace/EADS (now Airbus) in the Defence Systems Division at Munich and Paris.

Blanc is the former executive vice president and general manager of the business operation at the heart of the Safran Group’s focus on electric aircraft and hybrid propulsion, the Power Division. While at Safran, Blanc also was the Strategy and Capacity Increase vice president at Safran Landing Systems, as well as senior vice president, programme director in the Avionics Division of Safran Electronics and Defense. He has also held senior positions at the Airbus/EADS Space Transportation business unit. 

Botti, who also serves as chief technical officer, welcomed the appointments. “They will begin work right away because we are in the middle of the certification process having begun in October, 2021. It is very important to have all the expertise because we need to press on and make sure that we get through this process,” he said.

“Those are two good additions for us. Martin will be more focused on the business side and Hervé more on the technical side to ensure the certification process is completed in the right way,” added Botti.

With certification targeted for end of 2024, VoltAero’s Cassio will use electric motors in the aft fuselage-mounted propulsion system for all-electric power during taxi, takeoff, primary flight, and landing. But as a hybrid, with an internal combustion engine, range can be extended, recharging the batteries while in flight. Also, the engine serves as a backup in the event of a problem with the electric propulsion.

Martin Füllenbach, independent director (left); and Hervé Blanc, advisory board member (right).

SHARE: